Posts by counseling center

In the early 90’s I began studying with shamanic practitioners. At first, I worked with well-known shamanic teachers Michael Harner Ph.D. and Sandra Ingerman M.A. as well as other excellent teachers associated with the Foundation for Shamanic Studies. These early classes were a breath of fresh air for me, a way of balancing out my…Continue reading

Our indigenous elders and healers tell us that ancestors can get stuck on the earth plane after passing. This may be due to a traumatic and unexpected death in which the soul is unprepared for the sudden passage into Spirit. Or it might be that the ancestor had no one available to do the traditional…Continue reading

Adolfo and Rodolfo finally got visas to travel to the U.S., and our group of 25 shamanic students and practitioners gathered in the red rock wilderness of Capitol Reef National Park, to work ceremonially with these two brothers from the Peruvian Andes.
Their family lineage dates back many centuries before the Incas; powerful Altomisayoks (high…Continue reading

To begin with
I cannot speak
Only see
In simplest forms
Feel
Freely
Essentially
Be
Purity
I am the babe
Innocent
Clean
I cannot speak
Only see
Unabashedly
Learn from me
When you look to life
You cannot take from me
Anything
I do not have
Already
Only
Purity
I am the bud
Softly
Seeing
Only
…Continue reading

In preparation for my archetypal embodiment series I want to honor the structures and systems behind a persona or any construct for that matter. Those forms that silently shape what's under the skin, invisible to the eye. Why? Because without the groundwork, without the base everything falls out of context and nothing stays in place. In my creative…Continue reading

This Halloween you will likely dress up. You will show the community a side of yourself they rarely, if ever, see. You will express your inner dimensionality with such verocity. You will adorn yourself, enticing the community to see something so very true about you and yet usually hidden from view. Ok, how many times…Continue reading

She waits for you by the river bend, auspiciously watching the rush of water as it folds over itself and unwinds rambling streams of story. This is where inspiration lives, in the synergistic streams of the creative current. It lives in you. It has always lived in you. You are the bubbling ups of this emergent flow.
…Continue reading

If psychology is the study of the soul then therapy becomes a process of healing by which we utilize our understanding of soul or, perhaps more accurately, we attempt to understand the soul and in the process, reveal some helpful insights along life's journey. Exploring these depths requires more than just talk, especially when soul's first language is art; whether that be visual,…Continue reading

An art therapist knows that art-making facilitates transformation within the client/artist. Art therapists know that art can serve as a solvent, a catalyst, a salve, a stepping stone or a philosopher's stone depending on the needs of the artist. In this way an art therapist is also an alchemist practicing the ancient arts of metaphysical transformation. Art-making is an…Continue reading

There is a fresh light beckoning,
breaking,
brimming with integrity.
It stands there.
I stand here.
Steadfastly still.
Burning at the foot of my solitary gill
I sing sweet songs of empathy.
And she knows where to turn when the lights dim,
Down and in
To tap the nectar from urchin fin.
This kind of…Continue reading

Here is an example of an effective art therapy directive for someone struggling to decide between two things. We are all familiar with this position: opposing directions are presented to us and we are unsure which way to go. Between a rock and a hard place. We wonder where to place our energies and how to move forward…Continue reading

Last night I stayed up late, sat in circle with dear friends sharing perspectives on life and made art - lots of art in lots of forms.
Our words became poetry, our bodies became dancers, our mediums became miracle-makers.
The sky inspired the lightening inspired the moon inspired the art inspired me to move, speak…Continue reading

a new dawn is upon you. take yourself into it. be beckoned. be born into moments afresh. send spells of glory with your mouth. listen for your breath. and love, love, always love.
sometimes we think we are not enough. our words are not enough. our actions are not enough. our skills our intellect…Continue reading

The following images and words arose out of this spring's Archetypal Psychology course. The students move into dialogue with their soul and its language of image. My heart swelled tenfold as I witnessed these students share themselves...may you be touched as well.
"The experience of this class has been a letting go of…Continue reading

And suddenly you realize that each moment is attached with the same force of seeds on a dandelion and that they are destined to depart. Your life is a mandala of moving parts. Wet water-colored memories bleed as you blow on them and the seeds spatter and scatter in the wind. Those seeds set by…Continue reading

When I started looking around for the right master’s program that would feed my spiritual side and not be like the typical programs at large universities, I asked three counselors that I happened to know. They all independently stated “Southwestern College”. One was a recent graduate and the other two attended the transformational healing conference…Continue reading

As therapists we often have to make clear where our boundaries exist without hurting or confusing those who approach them. This does not have to be complicated and, in fact, can be an opportunity to display love, even elegance. By reflecting how we love ourselves we reveal the lightness of love to others. By stating…Continue reading

According to the Original Agreement People could become Plants But only if they kept the rituals That were set up in those days.
I found out about this One spring day in Iowa.
A man I knew was planting squash and onions, And he turned into a plant.
I saw it happen.
Recently, my husband…Continue reading

If I may mount my high horse for a moment I might have something important to say. And it’s quite fitting that I be way up here and you down there because it’s true what they say – it’s all about the view. Up here I can say things like ‘stay positive’,…Continue reading

During the warm days of autumn, a small group of us gathered in a wilderness area beside a lovely mountain stream, high above Santa Fe. The entire mountainside was covered with green conifers and aspens turning gold. At 10,000 feet elevation, deer and elk are abundant and the air is pure. Just…Continue reading

Last week the Escuela Bonita Pachamama Mural series were completed and hung on the walls of the school. The typical labyrinth exercises, games, escuela perro, and puzzles were additional forms of exercise.
This final week, we watched the animated film: The legend of the guardians which is an adventurous tale of owls, the…Continue reading

The clouds have obscured much of the Apus (mountains) today. The rainy season is fully embracing the landscapes. The shortage of water in Maras welcomes the water that flows from the skies to aid in what water cascades down the ancient and newly fashioned acequias that crisscross this Andean land. The maize that…Continue reading